WORK

MEASUREMENT
 Introduction
• Work measurement is the process of determining the time it
takes to complete a specific task or activity.
• It involves analyzing and evaluating the different elements of
a job, such as the methods used, the materials and equipment
required, and the skills and abilities of the workers
performing the task.
 Introduction
• The primary objective of work measurement is to establish a
standard time for a job or task, which can be used to
determine the most efficient and effective way of performing
that job or task.
• Job times are vital inputs for capacity planning, workforce
planning, estimating labor costs, scheduling, budgeting, and
designing incentive systems.
 Standard Time
• Standard time is the time it should take a qualified worker
to complete a specific task, working at an efficient, yet
sustainable pace, using specific methods, tools and
equipment, raw materials, and workplace arrangement.
Work Measurement Techniques

Stopwatch Historical
Time Study Times

Predetermined Work
Time Systems Sampling
 Work Measurement Techniques
•Time and motion studies involve observing and
analyzing each element of a job.
•Predetermined time systems involve breaking down a
job into individual elements and assigning
predetermined times to each element.
 Work Measurement Techniques
•Work sampling involves taking random samples of a
worker's activities over a period of time.
•Activity sampling involves observing the activities of
a group of workers over a period of time.
 Stopwatch Time Study
• Stopwatch time study was first introduced over a hundred years ago by
Frederick Winslow Taylor to set times for manufacturing and
construction activities.

• Distribution and warehousing, janitorial services, waste management,

call centers, hospitals, data processing, retail operations, sales, and
service and repair operations.
 Stopwatch Time Study
• Stopwatch time study is used to develop a time standard based on
observations of one worker taken over a number of cycles. That is then
applied to the work of all others in the organization who perform the
same task.

• Stopwatch time study is especially appropriate for short, repetitive

tasks.
 Basic Steps in a Time Study

Define the task to

Determine the Time the job, and
be studied, and Compute the
number of cycles to rate the worker’s
inform the worker standard time.
observe. performance.
who will be studied.
 Techniques in Recording
Elemental Times
Continuous timing method
• Allows the stopwatch to run for the entire duration of the study.
• In this method, the analyst reads the watch at the break point of
each element, and the time is allowed to continue.

Snapback technique
• In the snapback technique, after the watch is read at the break point
of each element, the watch time is returned to zero.
 Number of Cycles
The number of cycles that must be timed is a function of three
things:
(1) the variability of observed times,
(2)the desired accuracy, and
(3) the desired level of confidence for the estimated job time.
 Sample Size
𝒛𝒔 𝟐 𝒛𝒔 𝟐
𝒏= 𝒏=
𝒂𝒙 𝒆
Use this formula when Use this formula when
desired accuracy is a percent. desired accuracy is a time.

Where: Desired Confidence (%) z Value

𝑧 – number of normal standard deviations needed for 90 1.65
desired confidence
𝑠 – sample standard deviation 95 1.96
𝑎 − 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 95.5 2.00
𝑥 − 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 98 2.33
𝑒 − 𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟
99 2.58
 EXAMPLE 1
A time study analyst wants to estimate the time required to
perform a certain job. A preliminary study yielded a mean of
6.4 minutes and a standard deviation of 2.1 minutes. The
desired confidence is 95 percent. How many observations will
he need (including those already taken) if the desired
maximum error is:
a) ±10 percent of the sample mean?
b) One-half minute?
 EXAMPLE 1
𝐚. ±𝟏𝟎 percent of the sample mean
𝑠 = 2.1 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠
2 2
𝑧 = 1.96 (95%) 𝑧𝑠 1.96 (2.1)
𝑥 = 6.4 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑛= =
𝑎𝑥 0.10 (6.4)
𝑎 = 10%
= 41.36 𝑜𝑟 𝟒𝟐 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔
 EXAMPLE 1

𝐛. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 − 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞 2 2

𝑧𝑠 1.96 (2.1)
𝑠 = 2.1 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑛= =
𝑒 0.5
𝑧 = 1.96 (95%)
𝑒 = 0.5 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒 = 67.77 𝑜𝑟 𝟔𝟖 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔
 Observed Time
• The observed time is simply the average of the recorded times.

σ 𝒙𝒊
𝑶𝑻 =
𝒏
Where:
OT – observed time
σ 𝑥𝑖 – sum of the recorded time
n – number of observations
Note: If a job element does not occur each cycle, its average time should be
determined separately and that amount should be included in the observed time, OT
 Normal Time
• The normal time is the observed time adjusted for worker
performance.
• It is computed by multiplying the observed time by a performance
rating.

𝑵𝑻 = 𝑶𝑻 × 𝑷𝑹
Where:
NT – Normal time; OT – Observed time; PR – Performance rating
 Normal Time
• If ratings are made on an element-by-element basis, the normal time is
obtained by multiplying each element’s average time by its
performance rating and summing those values:

𝑁𝑇 = ෍ 𝑥𝑗 × 𝑃𝑅𝑗
Where
𝑥𝑗 – average for element j

𝑃𝑅𝑗 – performance rating for element j

 Normal Time
• A normal rating is 1.00. A performance rating of .9 indicates a pace
that is 90 percent of normal, whereas a rating of 1.05 indicates a pace
that is slightly faster than normal.

• For long jobs, each element may be rated.

• For short jobs, a single rating may be made for an entire cycle.
 Systems of Rating

Westinghouse
Synthetic Rating Objective Rating
System of Rating

Physiological
Skill and Effort
Evaluation of
Rating
Performance Level
 Westinghouse System of Rating
• A four-factor system, for rating the operator performance, was
developed at Westinghouse and it was originally published in 1927.
• These four factors are:
1. skill,
2. effort,
3. conditions, and
4. consistency.
• A scale of numerical values for each factor was supplied in tabular
form, and the selected time obtained from time study was normalized
or leveled by applying the sum of the ratings of the four factors.
Westinghouse System of Rating

𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 1 + 𝑊𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔

 Westinghouse System of Rating
Example:
The observed time for an element was one minute and the rating were
found to be as follows:
Skill Fair 𝐸1
Effort Excessive 𝐴1
Consistency Good 𝐶
Condition Excellent 𝐵
 Westinghouse System of Rating
Solution:
From the Performance Rating tables of Westinghouse system:

Skill Fair 𝐸1 0.04

Effort Excessive 𝐴1 0.13
Consistency Good 𝐶 0.02 𝑅𝐹 = 1 + 0.22 = 1.22%
Condition Excellent 𝐵 0.03
Overall (Total) Rating 0.22
 Standard Time
• The standard time takes into account factors such as personal
delays, unavoidable delays, or breaks.
• The standard time for a job is the normal time multiplied by
an allowance factor for these delays.

𝑺𝑻 = 𝑵𝑻 × 𝑨𝑭
Where:
ST – Standard time; NT – Normal time; AF – Allowance factor
 Allowance Factor
• Allowances can be based on either job time or time worked
(e.g., a workday). If allowances are based on the job time, the
allowance factor is computed using the following formula:

𝑨𝑭𝒋𝒐𝒃 = 𝟏 + 𝑨
Where:
A - Allowance percentage based on job time
 Allowance Factor
• If allowances are based on a percentage of the time worked
(i.e., the workday ), the appropriate formula is:
𝟏
𝑨𝑭𝒅𝒂𝒚 =
𝟏+𝑨
Where:
A - Allowance percentage based on workday
Compute the allowance factor for these
two cases:
• The allowance is 20 percent of • The allowance is 20 percent of
job time. work time.
1
𝐴𝐹𝑑𝑎𝑦 =
𝐴𝐹𝑗𝑜𝑏 = 1 + 𝐴 1+𝐴
𝐴𝐹𝑗𝑜𝑏 = 1 + 0.20 1
𝐴𝐹𝑗𝑜𝑏 = 1.20 𝑜𝑟 120% 𝐴𝐹𝑑𝑎𝑦 =
1 + 0.20

𝐴𝐹𝑑𝑎𝑦 = 1.25 𝑜𝑟 125%

Typical
allowance
percentages
for working
conditions